This post will cover our trip to Prescott, AZ with our friend Sylvia. This was our first stop on our return to St. Joseph, MO.
We were off in the morning and had a relatively easy drive. We stopped once for gas in a small town in California and the gas was $6.60 a gallon, so I only put in enough gas to get into Arizona. Once we were inside Arizona, I filled up for $3.60 a gallon. Insanity. We stopped for lunch in Needles, California at a place called The Wagon Wheel.
This was a very interesting place. It had some unique decorations and is worth a stop just for that.
Whether you stay for the food is your choice. The food was average at best, so clearly no link for them. A few hours further down the road in Seligman, Arizona, we stopped for desert at Delgadillo’s Snow Cap on Route 66.
This is a really fun stop. The outside is surrounded by classic cars and fun signs.
The entrance doors were fun too. It had doorknobs on both sides and most people, us included, would try and open the door from the wrong side.
Because I was parked in front of the restaurant, an Asian tourist leaned up against the front of my truck and posed for several pictures. She left before we could get a picture of her. We were sure she thought the truck was part of the display and were not bothered by it at all.
The ice cream was very good as well. Delgadillo’s Snow Cap is a must stop when passing by. Use the link at the end of this post to find it for yourself. We finally made it to our Airbnb, a place we call, “Frankie’s Place.” We have stayed here twice before and really love it. On our last stay, I was able to talk to the owner, “Frankie,” who is a really nice person. The inside has some interesting art and front door.
As an avid reader, Cindy loved his selection of books.
Frankie clearly has a great sense of humor. Check out some of the titles. My favorite is, “How to Avoid People.”
Cindy said her favorite book was on the middle of this shelf. I never figured out which one it was.
The backyard was very rustic with large boulders all around. Plus, there was a spa we used almost every night.
Frankie’s place is hands down one of our favorite places to stay. If you would like to stay there, search Airbnb for, “Cottage in Prescott Hosted by Frankie,” or “Home in Prescott Hosted by Frankie.” Book early because the place is booked a lot. Dinner in Prescott was at the Angry Crab Shack. This was a peel and eat crab and shrimp boil kind of place.
Cindy had the fried shrimp and fries basket. Sylvia and I had peel and eat shrimp with sausage.
You had to choose your heat levels were 0 thru 6. Sylvia and I had the one pound headless shrimp. Sylvia chose heat level 3 “Sizzling,” and I had heat level 4, Hot “Can’t fell my lips.” I originally wanted the order the 5 Angry Ghost “Inferno,” a ghost pepper based sauce. Cindy balked at the idea so I stayed with the 4. It was too mild for me. However, the 3 was at Sylvia’s limit of heat. She made several comments about how hot the spice was, but she was still able to eat all of her shrimp. The next day we walked around the historic downtown area. It is a square with shopping and restaurants surrounding the courthouse. It is called Courthouse Square. The west side of Courthouse Square is called Whiskey Row. It is called Whiskey Row because the town of Prescott began in 1864 during the gold rush. It became the first capital of the Arizona Territory. Gold brought prospectors, and businesses followed. Soon, about 40 saloons packed into the one block area, giving the street its nickname.
After lunch and some shopping, we returned to our place and freshened up. We were still full from lunch, so we went to Park Plaza Liquor and Deli for a drink and some snacks. This is a liquor store that also serves food and drinks. They also have a brick oven pizza oven in the back that makes great pizza. The menu is pretty varied for a liquor store. It reminded us of a Smooth Endings on steroids.
We had chips with elote dip and some drinks. Everything was delicious. We returned to our abode, went in the spa, and checked out all of the stars. The next day we drove about an hour into the mountains north of us to a ghost town named “Jerome.” Jerome is located at 5,200 feet and is built into the mountain side. In the late 1800s, copper was discovered in the area now know as Jerome. The mining peaked in the 1920s and Jerome had become one of the largest cities in Arizona, with a population around 15,000. When the mines closed in the 1950s, the town was nearly abandoned with less than 100 people remaining. If not for the artists who saved it, Jerome would be the largest ghost town in the nation. Today, you can browse art galleries that were once bordellos, mingle at restaurants that were once opium dens, and have a drink at some of the oldest saloons in the state.
The Jerome Grand Hotel sits near the top of the town.
There was a long stairway that seemed to go up the hill forever.
We had lunch at Vaqueros Grill and Cantina.
The inside was interesting with a Dia de Los Muertos theme.
The food was very good, but not to the level of earning a coveted link. Jerome is a cool little artisan town worth the visit. If you would like to check it out for yourself, use the link at the end of this post. We returned to Frankie’s Place and freshened up. Once again, we had overeaten at lunch and were not that hungry. The perfect solution was to return to the Plaza Park Liquor and Deli for drinks and salad. The ladies split a Cobb Salad and I enjoyed a Greek Chicken Salad. The salads were pretty darn good and hit the spot. We returned to our place and went in the spa again before getting some shut eye. The next day we drove just over an hour to the Montezuma Castle National Monument. Montezuma Castle is a 20-room high-rise apartment, built into a towering limestone cliff. They were occupied from 1100 AD to 1400 AD. Here are some pictures from our visit.
Montezuma Castle National Monument is an interesting and fun stop. Use the link in the usual place to visit it yourself. We drove about half an hour to the town of Cottonwood and had lunch at Belfrey Wood Fired Grill and Brewery. The building is an old church and looks pretty cool. Cindy and Sylvia split a BLT with fries. They loved their meal and ate every last bit of it. I ordered the turkey melt with a green chili sauce and onion rings. The onion rings were some of the best I have ever had. The sandwich was really good, had plenty of turkey, and the sauce was out of this world. I could eat that sandwich for lunch every week. This place definitely earned a link so use it for some delicious eats. After lunch, we drove to the historic downtown area and did some wine tasting at Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Tasting Room.
Based on the negative experiences we have had in so many other places (we may be wine snobs since we live in California half of the year near some of the best wine in the world), we were not sure what to expect. It turns out they grow most of the same varietals in Southern Arizona as they do in California. We each tried a different tasting, so we were able to share 18 different wines.
They all ranged from good to very good. We had a really good time and enjoyed our tastings. While not link worthy, Arizona wines are well worth the time to stop and enjoy a tasting. Like McArthur, we will return. For dinner, we decided to have a nicer dinner and made reservations at the Badger’s Den. The Badger’s Den had very high reviews and was hard to get a reservation at. We hoped those were good signs.
The inside was very casual and well decorated. Our server was friendly and attentive. Cindy and Sylvia split a 16 oz ribeye with sautéed mushrooms, steamed vegetables, and a baked potato. The potato was excellent, and the vegetables were fresh and cooked to perfection. They asked for their steak to be cooked medium. It was actually cooked to between medium-rare and medium, which in my opinion, is exactly how a ribeye should be cooked. They were a little annoyed but managed to eat most of their steak.
I started with a cup of clam chowder.
It was one of the best I have ever had. My main course was the special, blackened swordfish with asparagus and rice.
The swordfish was obviously previously frozen. I expected that because there are no oceans near Arizona. That being said, it was perfectly cooked and delicious, as were the asparagus. For dessert, Cindy and Sylvia split some carrot cake.
Again, they loved it. We will definitely return, and you should try it as well. Use the link at the end of this post to get those reservations, because the Badger’s Den is a very popular place. On our last full day in Prescott, a summer thunderstorm rolled in, and we had some lightening with pretty loud thunder. The storm lasted until the early afternoon, so we stayed inside and waited it out. Once the storm was finished, we did some local shopping. For dinner, we returned to Park Plaza Liquor and Deli for some more elote dip and to try some of their pizza.
The dip, pizza, and atmosphere were outstanding. We will be back. The next day we packed up and headed to Phoenix Airport to drop Sylvias off so she could fly back to Burbank Airport. This was a necessary stop because Sylvia needed to get back to Santa Clarita and we were continuing on to our Missouri house. After dropping Sylvia off, we hit the road for Albuquerque.
My next post will be about our triumphant return to St. Joseph where we have sold our current house, have purchased another, and must move between houses with a 5-day delay between escrows closing. Happy, happy, joy, joy! Until then, don’t get caught without a house.
LINKS
Montezuma Castle National Monument
